Page 14 of Falling Overboard

It wasn’t anything I hadn’t heard a million times before.

Lucky came back out of the bathroom in an old T-shirt and flannel pajama bottoms that somehow made her look even sexier than she had in that little skort, and it was like getting kicked in the stomach. I forced my gaze to stay on my phone.

“Are you okay if I turn out the lights?” she asked.

I would be okay with her doing any number of things, but instead I just answered, “Yes.”

She climbed into her bunk and I let my phone fall into my lap so that I could put my hands over my eyes. I was hyperaware of where she was in the darkness and wanted to make things okay between us again. To get back to that friendly vibe.

“Were you avoiding me earlier?” I asked. Better to get straight to the point.

She answered my question with a question. “Why would I avoid you?”

Still avoiding. Intriguing.

Maybe Lucky didn’t want us to be just friends.

No other way to find out than to step up to bat and swing away. “It seemed like you were watching me up on deck and then you were just gone.”

It took a few beats, but then she said, “Captain Carl asked me to keep an eye on you.”

I couldn’t resist teasing her. “Just an eye? Is there anything else you wanted to put on me?”

Please say yes,an inner voice chanted, and I told it to shut up.

Her voice was high and tight and tinged with regret. “No, thank you.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. It sounded like she’d had to convince herself to turn my joking invitation down. I should probably change the subject. “Which one is Emilie again?”

“The one who tried to grope you earlier.”

“Ah.” I’d never had an issue getting feminine attention but that had been overkill. “That gathering tonight made me feel a little like fresh meat being tossed into a lion’s den.”

She didn’t answer. Had it bothered her? I probably shouldn’t have hoped that it did.

I also didn’t want her to stop talking so I said the first thing that popped in my head. “Georgia seems nice.”

She sounded a little deflated when she responded. “She is. We’re friends. But I can tell you she has a problem following rules and has no filter. Which is probably why the captain didn’t offer her the chief stew position. She can only fake her happiness for so long before she says something blunt to a guest.”

I knew that they were friends but there was a definite note of jealousy this time. Did she think I was attracted to Georgia? I wasn’t.

Then she added, “She’s the best but she is absolutely that friend you have to explain to people before you introduce them and then apologize for afterward.”

I laughed and I liked that Lucky was funny. “And now you’re the one in charge of them.”

“Not by choice. Our former chief stew ran off in the middle of the night to go marry her noncommittal boyfriend and the captain decided to promote me instead of replacing her. And I don’t know if I’m going to do a good job of it.” She paused to let out a deep breath. “I’m a hard worker but delegation’s not really my strong point. I’d rather just do the work myself.”

“Fiercely independent?”

“By necessity, yes.” She stopped herself and I wondered what she’d been about to confess. She went back to what we’d been talking about. “Being in charge of them is a challenge I’m not quite sure I’m up for. It’s like trying to herd kittens. Cute and sweet but they totally ignore you, and if you leave them to their own devices, they will get into things they shouldn’t and claw stuff up.”

I could definitely see that. “So how do you herd kittens?”

“The only way I know how is to set the example. Which means that I have to follow the rules and do whatever the captain and the guests ask of me and hope that Georgia and Emilie will do the same.”

Wow. Message received. She couldn’t have been clearer. I told my bruised ego it wasn’t an actual rejection. That she was just very invested in doing her job well. I understood that. I was trying to do the same thing.

I tried to keep the disappointment out of my voice. “I see.”

---